Wow. You nailed so much of what I’ve been feeling too. Thanks so much for your honesty. It has helped me to feel better and not alone in my feelings too.
I’ve always admired your work Tiffany, and been inspired by your prints and zine-like publications in particular. Sad to hear you’ve shut up shop, but not surprised and fully support you. I recently wrote about my hope that artists and writers will go back to analogue and leave the tech world stranded, without quality “content” to steal from and duplicate. But it’s the exposure, the reach, and the community – how can we get back to that? I don’t know yet, but it’s a good start for all of us to say a big fat “No” in whatever way we can and to regain a sense of ease. Glad that the personal decision you made seemed to reroute the opportunities you actually want directly to you – I think that’s a big reminder about the value of focus and attention x
Three cheers to this! I had followed a very similar path and this was a great relief to see. When I think how much time I have invested in Instagram to be seen and it is a most dispiriting battle. Knowing that, at most, only 10 % of followers see what you do and only a fraction of those engage, it really doesn't seem worthwhile does it? This platform is the antithesis of that and definitely the best thing I have done. I look forward to seeing you here now!
Good that you recognised what stress level you were in & recognised what you had to do. Enjoy moving on with the things you really want to do. Having said that, I have loved your products including the gorgeous wrapping paper I received from you recently. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing though x
This is really refreshing to read, there's a lot of it about, I think. It really is exhausting being on social media (as for the horrors of Tik Tok, no thanka!). As if to prove you right Instagram hasn't shown me anything by you for ages, and just this morning I looked at the lovely whale postcard of yours I have on the wall and wondered if you were still there, or if you'd had enough. Good to find you here.
Thank so much Fi, I've always appreciated your support. And isn't that hilarious?! Honestly, I feel like Instagram is making it easier and easier to ditch... Great to connect on here! :)
Thank you for sharing this. I can relate so much. I've been trying to make the internet my path to success for years (16 to be exact). I never have and I'm exhausted. Success in my eyes would've been a monthly income that at the very least covered my monthly expenses. That has not happened in 16 years! Through photography, calligraphy, or writing. Needless to say, I too am feeling burned out. I'm tired of just feeding the content machine.
I'll be sad to see you leave IG but I completely get it.
Thank you Courtney! Well you are literally the Insta queen so if you can't make it work, that is reassuring. It's such a shame - so many tools at our fingertips but I've just found it intolerable. Glad to see you're on Substack though - I love everything you do! :)
Thank you! For the most part I think everyone is doing what they're told- "fake it until you make it" and we're all just fooling each other, which benefits only the machine.
Ah, I feel this! Sad that you had to close but it sounds like it had become a LOT. I absolutely loved the seasonal ezines you used to write… perhaps there will be a new home for them on Substack somehow? You never know! As for social media… Close it all down 😆 I deleted everything when I started my Substack and oh the relief. It’s blissful. You won’t regret it 💫
Thank you!!! I feel the same - I have loved connecting with people like you on Substack, who needs social media anymore!?!? Onwards and upwards!! Thanks for all the support :)
I completely get it, I don’t think we realise how toxic the constant distraction of social media is on our lives. I deleted the instagram app 3 days ago and already feel happier. I hope you continue doing what you love ❤️
This is so interesting to read and really strikes a chord. Thank you for sharing. I worry so much about the impact of social media on my teenage children in terms of their ability to concentrate, interact and especially on their creativity. I'm sorry about your printing business. I love the breakfast print I have in my kitchen 💚. I know that the way you are constantly reflecting on what you do means you will find a better way forward though. Good luck xxx
Oh my god, so do I. Having a one year old and a three year old, I'm so aware that they are right at the beginning of their relationships with technology and I have so much responsibility over it right now. It's scary but empowering at the same time. Thank you for all the support you've given me! :) x
Team TFB all the way *waves pompoms* and so, in a way, it might sound a bit odd to say that I'm sort of glad you've closed this channel for your output down, lovely as everything was (I just didn't have the dosh right now to support it as I'd have liked to). And you already know I'm astounded by how productive you are with your writing and illustrating alone – I think your creative life was in danger of reaching an estuary era, which must have been exhausting for you, and not nearly as satisfying as when it's a roaring mountain stream, cutting new channels through foothills of Exhausted Metaphoria 😳 anyway. Sending hugs. You're ace, your work is always a delight. Here's to deeper not wider. ✨🌱🙏🏼 xx
Thanks AOB!!! You are so right - it was becoming exhausting, and it was time to take some action. Beautiful metaphors, goodness me! Thank you as always for your support, it means the world! xx
Thank goodness for substack! I quit IG (homebody_diaries) a few months ago (can confirm: extremely liberating), and have missed just a handful of the accounts I followed there - yours being one of them. Then this lovely missive landed in my inbox, hurray!
I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts on social media and its grotesque, insatiable need for ‘content’. It doesn’t demand quality, just endless bullshit that ticks whichever boxes Meta has decided on that week. I work for a brand design agency in London, and so am all-to-familiar with the endlessness of ‘playing the game’ when it comes to online marketing and brand awareness tactics, especially when it comes to social media.
I’m so glad you’ve made steps ‘backwards’, as it were. Back to what fuels you, feeds your own passions and inspirations - and soul!xx
Yes!! Alice I feel we are so on the same page with this (and we must meet up soon, like we said!!). It really is just not what life is about for me, and I'm so fed up with this narrative that we just have to suck it up and live with it. Absolutely not, no thank you. It must be fascinating for you to see it through a branding lens, too. You have always been so inspiring to me - so good we can keep connected over here! :) x
Bless you and well done - love your honest appraisal of something a lot of us feel. I launched by debut album last year and love the creation and recording etc… however I can’t abide the constant need to ‘sell’ yourself via social media. It almost kills the love of the music. Chapeau to you and enjoy the writing!
Thank you so much!! And yes, I've been following your musical stuff and I think you do really well with being authentic and getting it out there. I hope you keep it going - it's wonderful to see!! x
So refreshing to read this.
Thank you! :)
Wow. You nailed so much of what I’ve been feeling too. Thanks so much for your honesty. It has helped me to feel better and not alone in my feelings too.
Thank you! Definitely not alone :)
I’ve always admired your work Tiffany, and been inspired by your prints and zine-like publications in particular. Sad to hear you’ve shut up shop, but not surprised and fully support you. I recently wrote about my hope that artists and writers will go back to analogue and leave the tech world stranded, without quality “content” to steal from and duplicate. But it’s the exposure, the reach, and the community – how can we get back to that? I don’t know yet, but it’s a good start for all of us to say a big fat “No” in whatever way we can and to regain a sense of ease. Glad that the personal decision you made seemed to reroute the opportunities you actually want directly to you – I think that’s a big reminder about the value of focus and attention x
Thanks so much Claire - I've always appreciated your support! It's such an interesting subject and one I'm really fascinated by. x
Three cheers to this! I had followed a very similar path and this was a great relief to see. When I think how much time I have invested in Instagram to be seen and it is a most dispiriting battle. Knowing that, at most, only 10 % of followers see what you do and only a fraction of those engage, it really doesn't seem worthwhile does it? This platform is the antithesis of that and definitely the best thing I have done. I look forward to seeing you here now!
Thank you so much Deborah! :)
It was such a relief to read this!
Thanks for your honesty and all good wishes for upcoming books and illustrations.
Thank you Lin! :)
Good that you recognised what stress level you were in & recognised what you had to do. Enjoy moving on with the things you really want to do. Having said that, I have loved your products including the gorgeous wrapping paper I received from you recently. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing though x
Thank you so much :)
This is really refreshing to read, there's a lot of it about, I think. It really is exhausting being on social media (as for the horrors of Tik Tok, no thanka!). As if to prove you right Instagram hasn't shown me anything by you for ages, and just this morning I looked at the lovely whale postcard of yours I have on the wall and wondered if you were still there, or if you'd had enough. Good to find you here.
Thank so much Fi, I've always appreciated your support. And isn't that hilarious?! Honestly, I feel like Instagram is making it easier and easier to ditch... Great to connect on here! :)
Thank you for sharing this. I can relate so much. I've been trying to make the internet my path to success for years (16 to be exact). I never have and I'm exhausted. Success in my eyes would've been a monthly income that at the very least covered my monthly expenses. That has not happened in 16 years! Through photography, calligraphy, or writing. Needless to say, I too am feeling burned out. I'm tired of just feeding the content machine.
I'll be sad to see you leave IG but I completely get it.
Thank you Courtney! Well you are literally the Insta queen so if you can't make it work, that is reassuring. It's such a shame - so many tools at our fingertips but I've just found it intolerable. Glad to see you're on Substack though - I love everything you do! :)
Thank you! For the most part I think everyone is doing what they're told- "fake it until you make it" and we're all just fooling each other, which benefits only the machine.
Love everything you create too! <3
Yes this really resonates! Hate, hate being on my phone and social media all the time. It’s just too blood sucking. Good luck with your next projects!
Thanks Wendy! :)
Ah, I feel this! Sad that you had to close but it sounds like it had become a LOT. I absolutely loved the seasonal ezines you used to write… perhaps there will be a new home for them on Substack somehow? You never know! As for social media… Close it all down 😆 I deleted everything when I started my Substack and oh the relief. It’s blissful. You won’t regret it 💫
Thank you!!! I feel the same - I have loved connecting with people like you on Substack, who needs social media anymore!?!? Onwards and upwards!! Thanks for all the support :)
I completely get it, I don’t think we realise how toxic the constant distraction of social media is on our lives. I deleted the instagram app 3 days ago and already feel happier. I hope you continue doing what you love ❤️
Ah what a great idea, I'm glad it's already making a difference! Thanks for all the support, as always, Kayleigh! :)
This is so interesting to read and really strikes a chord. Thank you for sharing. I worry so much about the impact of social media on my teenage children in terms of their ability to concentrate, interact and especially on their creativity. I'm sorry about your printing business. I love the breakfast print I have in my kitchen 💚. I know that the way you are constantly reflecting on what you do means you will find a better way forward though. Good luck xxx
Oh my god, so do I. Having a one year old and a three year old, I'm so aware that they are right at the beginning of their relationships with technology and I have so much responsibility over it right now. It's scary but empowering at the same time. Thank you for all the support you've given me! :) x
Team TFB all the way *waves pompoms* and so, in a way, it might sound a bit odd to say that I'm sort of glad you've closed this channel for your output down, lovely as everything was (I just didn't have the dosh right now to support it as I'd have liked to). And you already know I'm astounded by how productive you are with your writing and illustrating alone – I think your creative life was in danger of reaching an estuary era, which must have been exhausting for you, and not nearly as satisfying as when it's a roaring mountain stream, cutting new channels through foothills of Exhausted Metaphoria 😳 anyway. Sending hugs. You're ace, your work is always a delight. Here's to deeper not wider. ✨🌱🙏🏼 xx
Thanks AOB!!! You are so right - it was becoming exhausting, and it was time to take some action. Beautiful metaphors, goodness me! Thank you as always for your support, it means the world! xx
Thank goodness for substack! I quit IG (homebody_diaries) a few months ago (can confirm: extremely liberating), and have missed just a handful of the accounts I followed there - yours being one of them. Then this lovely missive landed in my inbox, hurray!
I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts on social media and its grotesque, insatiable need for ‘content’. It doesn’t demand quality, just endless bullshit that ticks whichever boxes Meta has decided on that week. I work for a brand design agency in London, and so am all-to-familiar with the endlessness of ‘playing the game’ when it comes to online marketing and brand awareness tactics, especially when it comes to social media.
I’m so glad you’ve made steps ‘backwards’, as it were. Back to what fuels you, feeds your own passions and inspirations - and soul!xx
Yes!! Alice I feel we are so on the same page with this (and we must meet up soon, like we said!!). It really is just not what life is about for me, and I'm so fed up with this narrative that we just have to suck it up and live with it. Absolutely not, no thank you. It must be fascinating for you to see it through a branding lens, too. You have always been so inspiring to me - so good we can keep connected over here! :) x
Couldn’t agree more, well said!! So glad you’re feeling better for making this decision and thriving since doing so x
Thank you! :) x
Bless you and well done - love your honest appraisal of something a lot of us feel. I launched by debut album last year and love the creation and recording etc… however I can’t abide the constant need to ‘sell’ yourself via social media. It almost kills the love of the music. Chapeau to you and enjoy the writing!
Thank you so much!! And yes, I've been following your musical stuff and I think you do really well with being authentic and getting it out there. I hope you keep it going - it's wonderful to see!! x